Simple tip for long trip...

[silentboarder69]

Pack or zip tie a spare set of sprockets to the frame of your bike. No need to carry a chain as you can get motorcycle chains virtually everywhere, but sprockets specific to your bike? Much harder.

[*Touring Ted*]

Yup ! Great tip ! I'm struggling to find somewhere to ziptie my sprockets on my frame though. I might ziptie them to the plastic side panels.

Getting a 525 DID X-ring everywhere might not be so easy !

You can buy crappy chinese 520 chains everywhere which stretch and double the wear on your sprockets

[backofbeyond]

You mean like this:





Loads of people have said to me "don't leave them there, they'll be stolen". That's why I put them on the panniers rather than on the bike. The panniers come off at night.

[rossi]

Better yet, fit a steel rear sprocket. Will outlast several alloy sprockets. A front sprocket is easy enough to carry.

[GunZenBomZ]

Good tip

[mark manley]

A friend of mine somehow managed to carry his spare chain and rear sprocket for his Tenere between the bash plate and engine, worked a treat.

[Capo Sakke]

I put it low

[henryuk]

Originally Posted by JerryJones

1. Plan out your route
2. Make sure to take all Your essentials with You
3. Wear comfortable clothes
4. Beware of distractions, Try to avoid it
5. Check weather conditions.

Good tips, but I'm afraid I'd have to disagree with point number 1 for some types of trip. You need to have a rough idea of where you are going but you can ruin a trip by having it all planned out - you start to feel you 'need' to be somewhere and that removes some of the freedom. I'd say try and stay as loose on plans as possible, that way you can't ever be late or behind schedule!

Obviously if you've booked a flight/visa etc that's a bit different.

In terms of weather you need to know whether roads will be shut due to snow or if you're going to be riding in 40 degree heat but on a long trip if it's going to rain it's going to rain, 'force majeur' as the French say!

[Land Rover]

IMO I'd use stainless hose clips instead of zip tys.....less chance of snapping off etc



.

[markharf]

Dunno about that. My tool tube was attached with three SS hose clamps. They stayed shiny, but all three broke, one at a time. After riding around for a bit with a bungie cord holding the tool tube, I installed three gigantic, fat, thick zipties in Curitiba, Brazil. 20,000 miles later all remained intact.

[Peter Bodtke]

I wish I had taken a set of sprockets with me when riding clockwise around South America. A tooth on the front sprocket chipped off in Brazil. The recommendation was to replace both sprockets and the chain. The bike had ~20,000 miles on it, so I did it. Got a new air filter and had the road tires I was carrying on the back of the bike mounted, swapping out the off road tires. Total bill ~$1000.00 at a BMW dealer in Sao Paulo (w/ 10% discount.) Foreign parts are hit with hefty import duties in Brazil. And BMW dealers generally get it right the first time and charge a premium. I just wrote up this one to the cost of adventure. Now I'm home and looking at sprocket prices and realize if I had carried my own spares, I would have saved several hundred dollars and simply paid for labor.

Limits and space restrict how much you carry. There are hundreds of trade off and decisions. I left with street tires on the bike and a spare off road front and rear tires across the back seat. I switched these tires out a few times, depending on road conditions. In some countries it was absolutely cheap to have the tires swapped out. I also carried spare inner tubes. On my LAST riding day in Mexico I ran over something and punctured the rear tire. At that point I had ~30,000 miles on the tube and replaced it instead of patching.

[brendanhall]

Zip ties will not fatigue like metal as they are plastic, but they are not as strong and are easier to cut.

the choice is yours.

each has pro's and con's

[vertical_c]

Take less.

[KirkFord]

Pardon the rant too; however tigershel in deference to 'Touring Ted', an unfed and watered Camel definetly will not get you far...

Cheers from a land of camels

[Nath]

Originally Posted by Land Rover

IMO I'd use stainless hose clips instead of zip tys.....less chance of snapping off etc



.

Yes!

It's an old thread, but people reading it might be left thinking that it's a really good idea (to cable tie sprockets to your bike). It isn't, because they will eventually snap and the sprockets fall off. It might take a while, and if you ride predominantly on tarmac or well graded roads you may never experience it. But why take the chance?? You should only really need to carry front sprockets as a rear sprocket should last at least 30,000 miles if you take care of the chain. One or two front sprockets take up hardly any room in your luggage, or possibly your tool kit.